Alan May: Tom Wilson made Caps games 'watchable' again

"I love the intensity that they've displayed since Tom Wilson has come back, the trickle-down, the rubbing off on other players, how hard he's playing the game, how intense he is," Caps analyst Alan May told The Sports Junkies, presented by D.C. Lottery.

"And, to me, it's great to have him back because the games have been watchable," he said. "Because I was getting bored watching a lot of these games. Every game since Wilson has been back has been exceptional."

Asked if he could see the Caps stringing together a long winning streak – as opposed to the back-and-forth volatility they've shown thus far through their schedule – May took it one step further.

"I think, because they have Wilson back and you'll have Kuznetsov and Oshie back I'd say within the next week or so – no timetable on Brooks Orpik – but when they get everybody back in the lineup, you saw how dominant they were in Minnesota last week," said May. "I said (Monday) night at our show on NBC Sports Washington that I expect the Caps to be in first place by the first or second week of December and stay there the rest of the season, in the Metropolitan Division."

J.P. Flaim noted that's only a couple of weeks away.

"I thought their conditioning levels, to where they really feel good about their game, are going to take place in about the middle of November," said May. "It's great to have Wilson back when they got him back. (Wednesday) was supposed to be his first game back had the suspension been upheld.

"But you saw last week when they had all the lines slotted exactly how they're supposed to be. For one night, they were dominant against the Minnesota Wild. So as everyone gets back, and hopefully health is on their side, this team can get back to playing and putting players in the proper spots, where it gives the team the greatest levels of success."